bulb planting questions

I have got various bulbs that I'm putting in pots, some to go at the front of the house, and some because the ground is not ready for them. I've got no experience of this and the instructions are not very detailed so I could use some advice!

I am putting tulips 'Renown' and 'Queen of the night' in metal troughs which are about 18"x8". Is 6 in each trough about right, or should I go for more? or less?

If I'm planting now is there a danger that the soil will all wash out before the roots develop? Should I cover them or keep them in the shed?

Will snowdrops be ok in a fairly shallow teracotta dish, about 4" deep?

How many daff bulbs should I put in a 10" pot. They're the tall type.

I also have dutch irises which flower in June, hopefully by then I will be able to plant them out but I'll put them in plastic pots for now. Any special tips for those?

Thanks in advance!

 

i d tend to plant more daffs in troughs than that, they should be planted so that they have about 2 and half inches of compost below and two inches above them, it doesnt matter if they are touching, tho it may be better to leave gaps
snowdrops will be fine in a four inch pot, plant them at twice their depth.
i use compost rather than soil from the garden, as garden soil will not provide the nutrients required to build the next year's bulbs.
the planters should have drainage holes as no bulbs like to be waterlogged, otherwise you can plant up in plastic pots and cover the base of the planter with stones/gravel
mice and squirrels are very fond of tulips so i usually cover pots with a plastic or wire mesh

 

I have never planted bulbs in pots before this year so I am keeping my fingers and toes very firmly crossed.

What I did was put a few inches of multi purpose compost in my pots and then bulbs all over the soil but leaving I hope enough gap between them. Then I put another few inches of compost and some more bulbs. Covered these with a few inches of compost and then got some pansies and cyclemen and put these on the top.

I don't know if the bottom bulbs are too deep or if by putting plants on the top the bulbs will not be able to fight to the top. Its a game of chance I think. If they do work though I shall let you know. Have fun anyway. Good luck with them.

 

I have also just planted 'Queen of the Night' Tulips in plastic troughs. Instructions were 12cm deep and 8cm apart I managed to get 7 in each trough (about 0.5m long) along with a dozen or so Nacissi 'Minow' Used a 50/50 mixture of my own compost and commercial peat free compost.

Generally bulbs are OK if planted to a depth of 3x bulb height (measured from soil surface to tip of bulb) but it's not that critical. Hyacinth and Hipeastrum should be shallow planted with the top 1/3 of the bulb exposed.